Crimped cap



J. S. B. SMITH CRIMPED CAP Dec. 4, 1923. 1,476,472

Filed July l2 1922 Patented Dec. 4, 1923.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES STERLING B. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CRIMPED CAP.

Application led July 12, 1922. Serial No. 574,456.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES STERLING B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and btate of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crimped Caps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal closures or caps for glass containers, such as bottles and jars, the object of the invention being to provide an improved crimped cap, which by reason of its construction, can be readily made of tin plate of much lighter gauge than has heretofore been possible. Thus, the cap will yield more readily during its application, and therefore can be sealed more easily and more efficiently on the container, since it will more effectively yield to the shape of the glass finish of the container. Notwithstanding the fact however, that it can be made of lighter metal, the construction is such that it will be a materially stronger cap, while the rusting of the edge of the cap is effectively retarded and the danger of the cutting of the hands prevented, and at the same time by rea-son of the improved construction, the cap can be more readily removed and replaced, and this without the use of a special tool for that purpose.

With crimped caps, such as those heretofore known to the trade, it has been necessary in order to pry these caps ofl' without mutilating them to construct them of heavy tin plate, and the raw or free edges of these caps were not only unsanitary by reason of their liability to rust due to moisture, acids and other causes, but there was always the ever-present danger of cutting the hands of the user of the caps,-a seriousconsideration at all times.

While the present improved cap is particularly well adapted for use on bottles. it nevertheless can be used with equal facility on certain kinds of glass jars or tumblers, and therefore one such form of jar or tumbler is shown herein, with a cap applied thereto, whereas the old style crimped caps were not adapted for use on tumblers or jars, and were only efficient when made of heavy metal for use on bottles and required usually the application of a special tool in order to remove them; their re-application,

because of their mode of construction and quality of the metal which had to be used, usually resulting in a less effective sealing. In the drawin s accompanying and forming a part of t is specification, Fig. 1 illustrates this improved cap; Fig. 2 illustrates the mouth of one form of bottle for which the cap is adapted; Fi 3 illustrates the cap applied to a botte; Fig. 4 .illustrates the cap in section applied to a glass tumbler or jar likewise shown in section; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the cap;

' Fig. 6 illustrates the first step in the manufacture of the cap and Fig. 7 illustrates the second step; and Fig. 8 illustrates this improved cap with a ring of cork, rubber or other suitable material inserted whereby the cap may have its seal at the bottom instead of at the upper edge or mouth of the bottle or jar, in which latter instance. a linei` or dlisk of some suitable material is usually use Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the use o .these improved caps, a glass container 2, whether this be of the bottle form or jar or tumbler form, is provided with what may be termed an enlarged portion or rounded shoulder or lip 3 at the mouth or upper edge, around which the fiange of the cap is compressed, usually in the first instance by machinery, and when the container is in the form of a bottle, there is located adjacent to this enlarged edge and below the same a shoulder 4, which acts as a fulcrum so that the cap may be removed by a coin acting as a lever in the manner hereinafterdescribed. Obviously of course the ca can be removed in various ways, and there ore obviously the construction of the bottle or jar other than that which is necessary to permit the proper application of the cap is not material to the present improvement.

The cap in the preferred form thereof shown and described comprises a top 5 and a depending flange or skirt 6 having an outwardly flaring lower edge 7. This flaring edge and skirt are provided with reinforcing crimps or corrugations 8.

In practice it has been found that for a bottle cap approximately twenty-one of these crimps give the most satisfactory result in the reduction of the cap flange when applied to the bottle. In other words, this number of crimp's it has been found permits the flange to be reduced or'drawn in and caused to more efiiciently hug the bottle. The lower edge of the flange or skirt is provided With an inturned edge 9, which thus provides what may be termed a reinforced and strengthened edge. In other words, the cap is provided with what may be roperly designated as a hemmed edge orming` in a sense anenlarged lower edge, thus doing away with the raw or free edge heretofore present in crimped caps, and consequently protecting the lower edge of the skirt or cap against rust and prevent-V ing the cutting of the hands of the user.

'lhe turning of the lower edgel of the cap inwardly is very much preferable to turning it outwardly for several reasons: By turning the edge inwardly, this will enable the cap to reduce effectively to properly lit the bottle, whereas if the edge were turned outwardly, the reducing operation in applying the cap has a tendency to open such an outturned edge and leave a raw edge, and moreover such outturned edge cannot be as effectively crimped whereas when the edge is inturned in the manner shown herein the reduction operation in applying the cap to the bottle has a tendency to draw the flange closer to the bottle. The crimps or corrugations are essential in practice to insure a proper reduction of the cap when applied to the bottle or jar for it has been found that without these crimps or corrugations the metal will spring back or away from the jar or bottle and interfere with the proper sealing thereof and they are shown extending from. top to bottom of the skirt or flange.

ln the present improvement it will also be observed that in the form shown, the inturned edge 9 preferably is bent to engage or hug an adjacent wall as the inner wall of the flaring skirt so thatthe inturned edge is likewise crimped to correspond with the crimps of the skirt. Although this in practice affords a much stronger and more desirable cap, yet it will be obvious that it is not absolutely necessarythat the crimps be present in the inturned edge, and when not present a ring sealing gasket or disk 10 can be inserted between the inturnedv edge and the adjacent wall of the skirt flange when a seal at the bottom of the cap is desired,- and such a gasket could even still be used by inserting it before the inturned edge is crimped. Such crimping would then act to hold the gasket in place since the inturned edge wou d then engage the adjacent wall of the gasket.

In the application of the cap to a bottle or jar, such as shown, it vwill be observed that the enlarged or rounded bottle mouth cooperating with the crimped cap acts to and continuously engage aar/aars efficiently lock the cap thereon. When the vcap is used with a bottle such as that shown heren,'by reason of the fact that it has a strengthened or reinforced lower edge, and notwithstanding it is made of relatively thin metal as compared with that heretofore deemed necessary with raw edge crimped caps, the cap can be readily removed by the use of a coin inserted under the strengthened edge in such manner that the lower shoulder will act as a fulcrum for the coin, so that the coin becomes a lever whereby by sidewise movement the cap can be readily removed,

and owing to the contruction of the cap, the

removal thereof does not mutilate it., so that it can be readily replaced and locked on the jar practically in as oflicientmanner as it was in the first instance. v

In other words, by reason of the construction of the cap, it is practical to make the same of comparatively light weight tin plate or aluminum, consequently the cap will more readily yield to pressure and more efficiently hug the glass container, and likewise can be more easily removed and replaced, this being especially true of larger sizes of caps adapted particularly for glass jars or tumblers.

In the manufacture of this improved cap, a crimpedshell having a top; and a depending flange with an outwardly flaring lower edge is first struck up or stamped out of thin sheet metal, whereupon this shell has the appearance of Fig. 6, the outturned flange 11 being of sufficient width to permit a part thereof to be bent upon itself or turned inwardly. The flaring portion of the cap flange is then subjected to suitable pressure, as for instance a rolling pressure, whereby a portionof this flaring or outturned flange bent upon itself as shown is turned inwardly to form a hemmed edge so as to engage an adjacent wall, as in Fig. 7, whereupon the crimps thereof will correspond with the crimps of the cap flange.

I believe that I am the first to provide a. cap having a crimped flange or skirt and a reinforced or strengthened edge, preferably by inturning such edge, and especially a cap of such construction made of relatively thin tin plate whereby the several advantages hereinbefore pointed out are obtained.

It-will be understood that by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure, or arrangement it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

I claim as m invention:

1. A' crimpedy preformed metal cap constructed of relatively thin sheet metal and comprising a top and a depending flange bent upon itself at its lower edge to firmly or hug, both before and subsequent to the application to the conan adjacent wall, thereby to form a tainer said edge and reinforcing hemmed edge, flange being crimped.

2. A crimped preformed metal cap constructed of relatively thin sheet metal and comprising a top and a dependlng flange bent inwardl upon itself at itslower edge to firmly an continuously engage or h ug, both before and subsequent to the apphcation of the cap to the container, an adja-y cent wall on the inside of the cap thereby to form a reinforcing hemmed edge, said edge and flange being crimped.

3. A crimpe preformed metal cap constructed of relatively thin sheet metal and comprising a top and a depending flange bent upon itself at its lower edge to firmly and continuously engage or hug, both before and subsequent to the application of the cap to the container, an adjacent wall, thereby to form a edge and flan e being crimped from top to bottom thereotf.

4. A crimped preformed metal cap constructed of relatively thin sheet metal and comprising la. topand an outwardly flared depending flange bent upon itself at its low-lI er edgeto firmly and continuously engage or hug, both before and subsequent'l to the application of the cap to the container, an adjacent wall, thereby to form a reinforcing hemmed edge, said edge and flange being crimped.

5. A crimped preformed metal cap constructed of relatively thin sheet metal and comprising a top and a depending outwardly flared flange bent inwardly upon itself at its lower edge to firmly and continuously engage orv hug, both before .and subsequent to the application cf the cap to the container, an adjacent wall on the inside of the cap, thereby to form a reinforcing hemmed edge, said edge and flange being crimped from top to bottom thereof.

6. A crimped preformed metal cap conreinforcing hemmed edge, said p 7. A crimped metal cap having a top and a depending flange `bent inwardly at its lower edge upon itself to form a reinforcing edge, a gasket located between said inbent 4portion and the flange, said flange having crimps therein, said inbent portion continuously engaging or hugging, both before and subsequent to the application of the cap to the container, an adjacent wall.

8. A crimped metal cap having a top and a depending flaring flange bent inwardly at its lower edge upon itself to form a. reinforcing edge, a gasket located between said inbent portion and the flange, said flange and inturned edge having crimps therein, said inbent portion continuously engaging or hugging, both before and subsequent to the application of the cap to the container, an `adjacent wall.

9. A crimped metal cap. having a top and a depending flaring flange bent inwardly at its lower edge upon itself to form a reinforcing edge, a gasket located between said inbent portion and the flange, said flange and inturned edge having crimps therein from top to bottom of the flange, said inbent portion continuously engaging or hugging, both before and subsequent to the applicatiorlil of the cap t0 the container, an adjacent Wa Signed at Brooklyn, New York, this 30th day of June, 1922.

JAMES STERLING B. SMITH. 

